The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN)

This one arrived so late that it came out for the next console too. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess took the series back to an art style closer to Ocarina of Time, albeit a little earthier and obviously benefiting from the power of the 'Cube. For many fans, it was the 'realistic' Zelda they'd been pining for after Nintendo took a left turn with The Wind Waker's cel-shading, and although it didn't quite strike all the right notes, it still features some breathtaking dungeons, memorably oddball characters, and a unique atmosphere. The Wii version got waggle and widescreen, although the GameCube version got the canonical kingdom geography (the Wii release flipped Hyrule's East and West for reasons).

This generation-straddling release set a precedent that Nintendo would later repeat...

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U)

Okay, last of the cheeky, dual-release generation hoppers, but it doesn't get much later-gen than a game which carries into another console cycle, does it? The 'best' version of the game is on Nintendo Switch, sure, but the freedom, the spontaneity, and the outstanding charm and craft of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wasn't lost on Wii U. Many people might think back on that system with pity, but it's got a library so stellar that Nintendo plundered almost all of it for Switch.

Star Fox 2 (SNES)

If there's a later-gen game than a Zelda game with each foot in a different console, how about a game that was so late it never even came out for the system it was made for?

Star Fox 2 is a fascinating curio — an unreleased but completed Super NES sequel and 'museum piece' until being officially released on the Super Nintendo Classic Mini console, and later on Nintendo Switch Online. This game was fully developed for the SNES but shelved at the last minute when Nintendo saw the writing on the wall for 16-bit 3D graphics and wanted to avoid direct comparison with the impressive polygonal games incoming on more powerful hardware.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)

A remake of the Japan-only Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the series, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia launched in May 2017, a couple of months after the Switch dropped. It stepped back from the triple-route complexities of its immediate predecessor, Fire Emblem Fates. Returning to the purity of an earlier time didn't mean a simpler game, though, as the original Japan-only Gaiden incorporated dungeon crawling and free-roaming RPG elements that were ideal fodder for a remake using systems developed for the previous 3DS entries.

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Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA)

If you missed out on Final Fantasy VI on the SNES (or if you're from Europe) or PlayStation, then for a long time, Final Fantasy VI Advance was the only way to experience an all-time great. Launching in November 2006 in Japan (and the following February in the US), after the DS had been out for two years, this version of the game offered brand-new dungeons and summons for you to experience, and with the small sacrifice of music quality, you could play one of the best games of all time on the go, wherever you want. Depending on whether you want that extra content or not, the handheld debate between this and the Pixel Remaster remains, but you really can't go wrong either way.

Mother 3 (GBA)

Mother 3 began life as a Nintendo 64 title before eventually transferring to the Game Boy Advance and eventually launching in 2006 after the DS had been out for 18 months. In the West, it's become something of a cult — a near-mythical Japan-only release that fans of Earthbound have been desperate to play in an official capacity. That fervent fanbase has taken matters into its own hands with (excellent) unofficial translations, but beyond the Lucas Smash Bros. amiibo and the arrival of the game for Japanese Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, there's been no indication we'll see a localised version soon.

Rhythm Tengoku (GBA)

Another 2006 GBA release (a great year for that system, at least in Japan), this debut for the Rhythm Heaven series was a cracking introduction to the beat-based mini-gameplay we'd come to love when the sequel arrived on DS in the West three years later. Channelling the irreverence of the WarioWare series into a colourful rhythm game, Rhythm Tengoku was another fantastic late-arriving GBA game.

We'd love to see this series get a Switch entry, and now's the perfect time.

Pokémon Black and White 2 (DS)

Pokémon Black and White 2 launched in October 2012, a year and a half after the 3DS launched. As with the GBA entries on this list, which were playable on the original DS and DS Lite, these Pokémon entries were playable on the new console, too. The naming of these entries, their status as the first 'direct' sequels in the franchise, and the fact that they weren't being released on the then-new 3DS arguably did these games a disservice and masked their greatness. Make no mistake though, these are two of the finest entries in the series.

You know, we considered adding Mario Bros. 3, although we realised that was just our poor PAL perception (it launched in Europe in 1991, nearly three years after its Japanese debut).

Still, we know there have been plenty of other near-end-of-life gems over the years — let us know any we've missed in the comments, and feel free to discuss late-gen arrivals from other platforms that saw to it that they didn't go gentle into that good night.